


The Timelord of Earth

by TimeLordFury



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Torchwood(s), Alternate Universe - Doctor Who, Gen, Time War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-20 03:42:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2413685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeLordFury/pseuds/TimeLordFury
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tess Bates was a human girl. A typical teenager trying to find the balance between school, sports and watching her favourite show, Doctor Who. When a strange light began to seep though a crack in the soil, Tess found herself crashing into another world, a whole new universe, lodged in the bloodiest war to ever exist. The Time War.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Falling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [My friend Tess.](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=My+friend+Tess.).



Tess wasn't special. There's no point lying about it, but Tess contained something that every human being has; the potential to be amazing. To make history, maybe even change it. She wasn't a genius that could recite complicated chemical formulas in a single breath, or figure out the impossible math problems. She had something more remarkable; a big heart, full of love and joy and hope and sorrow. Everybody was important to her, big or small, young or old. Many times she found herself dreaming of the world, the beauty of it, the places to discover, the history to unfold. She frequently gazed up towards the stars, taking in the billions of years of history playing in front of her eyes. These stars told her to never stop on her dreams. And so she studied, she ran, she read until words were pouring out from her ears. 

* * *

 

It happened so quick, a bright blinding light and suddenly she was falling. Every fiber of her being felt as if it was torn from her and replaced, she couldn't see just that white light blinding her, changing her. 

Consciousness slowly began to creep onto her again, she attempted to take a deep breath but something was preventing her. A cool breeze against her face assured her there was air around her. Panic beginning to sink in, she attempted to withdraw another breath but was overcome with a deep cough, clearing her throat of what felt like dust.  Her eyelids were weighed down with fatigue as she slowly opened them catching a glimpse of small gold particles floating in the air above her face before quickly dissipating into the darkened room. Her body remained paralysed and grievous, leaving her only with the ability to tilt her head slightly. Senses still numb she tried her best to analyse the environment surrounding her. Sitting a foot from her head was a small, beautifully carved wooden table with two candles sitting in a glass cage, one shining red, the other yellow. The candles did little to lighten up the small room on cast a small orange glow, what windows were there were boarded up with various materials. From what Tess could gather, the floor was littered with books and glass. Adjacent to the table a long dusty mirror hung against the wall, the top left corner with a cracks spreading through to the center. 

The pain began to ease as Tess could feel the comfort of a long silky fabric wrapped around her body. Taking a glance down she realised she was wrapped in a red cloak of some sort. It felt soft and kept her warm. As her hearing slowly returned to her, a distant rumble filled her ears, mixed with other sounds she couldn't yet distinguish. 

By the time she managed to muster up the energy to stand on her own two feet, half the candle had melted. The two pieces of melting wax were her only concept of time passing. Tess cursed at herself for not wearing a watch that day, only a thick black wristband with the words "TIME LORD" and an image of a TARDIS branded on it. Clinging to the cloak for heat in one hand and the candles in the other, she stumbled towards the cracking mirror, cautious of treading onto the glass in her bare feet. She looked at the orange image of herself in the mirror, assessing any damage on her body. Her reflection was simply an orange, cloaked version of herself before she fell, wearing only black basketball shorts and a supposedly white t-shirt with a sports brand's name sewn onto it. Yet something about her felt different. The rumble was constantly growing louder as Tess recovered, now she could make out the sound of sirens and yelling. 

With each step she gathered strength and speed, walking faster and faster down a littered corridor, up the marble steps into the cold night air. She was in the midst of a warzone, with green and red flashes across the smokey sky, lighting up the rubble of what looked like an ancient, yet advanced city. The echoes of explosions and the screams of dying civilians filled the air. She tugged the cloak tighter to her arms as she walked further into the war torn street. The smell of ash and smoke rose from the remains of a burning market place. Tess' hunger took control and she made her way across the debris towards the remnants of the food stalls.

A large fallen pillar blocked her path. With tremendous effort, she managed to pull herself over the broken stone and slide down the other side. There she heard a small cough.

Tess turned to see a dark figure propped against the pillar. He was covered in a wine dusty armour, his head leaning back staring at the chaos in front of him. 

"Hello?" Tess called out meekly. "Are you alright?"

The man stirred and tilted his head towards Tess. As Tess drew closer the man began to mumble some words in response.

"I'm sorry I can't understand what you're saying." Tess replied, concerned.

She knelt down by the soldier. There was blood seeping out from under his chest plate and soaking into the dust below, leaving a stain. She began to remove the cloak from her shoulders but a hand shot up and caught her wrist. A cry of fear and shock escaped her lips and the man loosened his grip. The terror Tess had felt was nothing compared to the fear in the mans eyes, the eyes of a man facing death. His grip was slacking by each passing second, his eyes narrowed slightly before releasing her. 

He spoke again in an unfamiliar language and slowly began to remove his helmet, revealing multiple face wounds. Flinching every time the metal touched his skin, Tess leaned in to help. He mumbled a word that Tess would only assume as a thank you.

"No problem." she replied, gently placing the helmet onto the ground.

The man released a soft groan as he arched his back, attempting to grab something from under him. The bleeding accelerated while he moved. Tess placed her arms under him trying to give him more support against the wall. She could feel his blood trickling onto her hands and fought back the wave of sickness.

"Is there anyone I can call for help?" asked Tess. The man just froze and gave her a confused stare. Tess pulled out a hand from underneath him to imitate a phone with it. 

The man just smiled, an empty sad smile and cast his gaze up into the heavens. He blinked several times fighting back tears before shaking his head and returning back to his previous task. He pulled out a large pistol from under him and laid it on his lap. Tess gulped nervously, she had no clue if this man was friendly or not, in fact she had no clue where she was, all she knew that it wasn't in Ireland, her home. The man noticed her dismay and wrapped his hand around the barrel, pointing the handle towards her. Tess blinked several times, trying to figure out why man was giving her his only weapon. He pointed at the side showing her where the safety was and then pointed down the street. Giving her one last smile, his hand began to droop. She leaned him, placing a hand on the side of his face, her thumb rubbing along his cheek. He looked young, around mid-twenties. Too young to die. His eyes lit up at the contact, knowing he wasn't to die alone. He glanced at her wrist and whispered the word "Renegade.." before all light faded from his eyes forever. 

Tess wasn't prepared for this, she swallowed hard and closed his eyes using her finger and thumb. The last ghost of his smile still etched onto his face. Picking up the helmet she began to walk along the street, of a place she's never been.  


	2. A Little Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tess discovers a young girl, hiding among the rubble as she makes her way through the burning city.

Tess made her way down the street, trying her best to ignore the distant screams as she climbed over the charred wood scattered across her path. She was grateful for the cloak given to her, which led her to wonder who gave her this. Her thoughts crossed to the now dead soldier but soon shook off that idea. The man didn't recognise her. Yet with his last moments, he spent them helping her; giving her a weapon, protection and a direction. Only two people she had met from this city, one while conscious the other not, and both showed kindness to her, and for that she was in their debt. The city was destroyed, not one building along the street was untouched. Some were reduced to a pile of wood and marble, others, the lucky ones, had holes blasted into their walls, or were scorched under a mixture of red and green flames. 

With each step she took, she flinched as pieces of debris stuck itself into her foot. No part of the road remained smooth or uncovered. Suddenly a large explosion was hear just meters over her head, reacting quickly she dove to the ground, knees grazing against the stone. She turned her head in time to watch a large metal object fall from the sky and land near where the fallen soldier laid creating a second explosion. Heart pounding, she pushed herself off the ground and wiped the dust from her knees with shaking hands. She was isolated in a dying city, surrounded by fire and the dying and she had no idea what was causing it. The gun look advanced, the armour too, leaving her to ponder what powerful being was destroying this place. Something about that man seemed familiar, the place too. She couldn't put her finger on exactly what, her main focus was escaping the city alive. Her pace quickened into a light jog, ignoring the pain throbbing in her knees and feet.

Running faster and faster, until she tripped over something small and heard a young cry. Regaining her balance she turned to see a young girl hiding among the rubble, her face grey from the dust and clutching to what remained at a stuffed toy. Her cheeks were covered in a mingle of tears and dirt, but her face lit up at the sight of Tess. Smiling weakly back at her, Tess crouched down to be at eye level with the child. 

"Hello there." spoke Tess quietly, "I presume you don't speak English either."

The girl's smile faltered slightly but grew wider when she spotted her wristband.

She beamed, jumping to her feet, calling out a word unknown to Tess and wrapped her arms around her neck. Her eyes widened with surprise, but the little girls joy was contagious and soon Tess found herself smiling properly. 

"So you like it too, it's a great show I'll admit." she replied, standing up, carrying the girl with her. 

The little girl buried her face into her cloak, repeating the word again. Tess patted her back, enjoying the comfort as much as the child before setting her back to her feet.

"Here," she began, taking off her wristband and handing it to her "you have it." 

A small giggle emerged from her as she took it and put it on her. It hung loosely from her arm as she proudly waved it in front of Tess. The smile still etched onto her face, Tess extends her hand. The girl grasps onto it, and together they make their way through the city.

* * *

This girl was no different that most children Tess knew, she kept chatting away, asking questions that Tess could never understand. 

"What's you name?" Tess asked suddenly. The girl replied with a blank stare. "Oh yes, language barrier.."  
She then pointed towards herself and said her name, the girl nodded and when Tess pointed to her she replied "Dardrellthenefonarkorvano."

"Dardrellthenafoo-" her voice trailed.

"Dardrellthenefonarkorvano." repeated the girl patiently. 

"Okay. Dardrellthenefodarn- okay no I can't remember that. How about Dardrell?"

The girl nodded. "Tess." she sang, swinging her arm that held onto her toy. "Tess. Tess. Tess."

Tess was amazed at how the young girl could be so happy, surrounded by such misery. She studied the small child, her brown skin covered in the white dust of marble, her red and black overalls slightly torn, a dark red scarf falling loosely around her neck and a mop of dark curls producing from under her hat. She looked to be only eight or nine years old. A group of wires sparked along the ground, bringing her attention back onto the street. Food. That's what they need right now. Giving the girls hand a gentle tug, the pair headed towards the remains of a nearby building. 

* * *

 

Together, the girls sat there eating a yellow bread-like substance and a blue vegetable that taste like apples. Every so often, the ground would shake below them causing particles to fall from the ceiling above them and every time a loud explosion occurred the girl released a small scream and clung to Tess.

Tess patted her head whispering "It's going to be okay, I promise." as gently as she could hoping that she would understand. The girl went back to her meal leaving Tess to fiddle with her helmet. After several minutes she managed to flick a switch and a clear visor appeared. Curious, Tess placed the helmet back onto her head, walked outside and looked up into the sky. The sun was beginning to rise, turning the smoke a dark rust colour and the visor portrayed a mixture of orange and cyan symbols. Tess understood none of it, but a bright orange arrow kept flickering near the center. 

  
_View from the visor._

As she looked down the arrow rose slightly, still pointing west. Turning around she realised Dardrell was nowhere to be seen. 

"Dardrell!" Tess called out in panic. She wasn't going to lose this little girl. She was her only friend here, and she was too young to be by herself.

"Dardrell!" She yelled, feeling a strain in her throat. Two seconds later, a head of dark curly hair appeared from further inside the building. Dardrell toddles in carrying a large pair of boots and handed them to Tess. The corner of her mouth raised as she whispered a thank you before putting the boots on.

Suddenly the sound of static came from inside the helmet causing Tess to jump. 

"Hello?" she called, hoping there was some sort of microphone in it. More static.

"Hello!" she belted, starting to feel desperate, then silence. The static disappeared as soon as it came. Tess slumped against the wall feeling defeated. Her eyes stung slightly as she could feel tears building up. Dardrell broke off a piece of the fruit and handed it to Tess.

"Thanks Dardrell." She was munching on the piece when she heard a second sound of hope. Footsteps. Getting louder and louder. Tess raised her weapon, when an ashen face of a soldier appeared in the doorway. He spoke and Dardrell shook her head. The man then turned his attention to Tess and repeated what he had said. Tess glanced over to her friend who piped up and explained Tess' situation. The man, still staring at Tess nodded and walked towards her, holding a small device. When he got closer Tess realised it was a small communicator of some sort. He handed her the device and motioned her to speak into it. 

"Hello?" She appeared to be saying that word a lot recently. A light on the side lit up and the man quickly removed her helmet.

"Oi! That's mine!" she exclaimed jumping to her feet. The man simply turned his back to her and started fiddling with both devices together. Tess stood there impatiently tapping her foot until a few minutes later the man returned her helmet to her. Wondering what he had done to it, she placed it back onto her head.

"Better?" he asked. "Your communications were damaged. I managed to repair your translator."

Tess just blinked for a moment, then recollected her senses. She needed as much information about the situation as possible.

"Where am I?" she inquired, tightening the scrap of her helmet. 

"Arcadia." he replied turning his back to inspect the street. "Of  **Gallifrey.** " 


End file.
